Drive and drive control for supply rolls



0d. 24, 1967 w, GlLEs DRIVE AND DRIVE CONTROL FOR SUPPLY ROLLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 20, 1966 INVENTOR. WILLIAM H. Gauze Oct. 24, 1967 w. H. GILES 3,348,787

DRIVE AND DRIVE CONTROL FOR SUPPLY ROLLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1966 VENTOR. WILLIAM H. G\I ES A TMAPNE Y United States Patent 3,348,787 DRIVE AND DRIVE CONTROL FOR SUPPLY ROLLS William H. Giles, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Nu Roll Corp., Mineola, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 20, 1966, Ser. No. 551,750 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-755) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure herein relates to a drive and driven control for supply rolls for feeding webs to a wrapping machine or the like and embodies means for automatically maintaining an even tension on the web drawn from a supply roll and for regulating the speed of delivery of the web from a supply roll.

This invention relates to a drive and drive control for supply rolls for feeding webs to a master machine, such as a wrapping machine.

In any roll fed machine tension on the travelling web is a critical factor. If too much tension is applied to the travelling web the material will tend to slip backwards while going through the machine measuring reels, thus creating a condition where the length of the material cut off by the severing means is shorter than the measuring rolls have been calculated to feed through the knife. On the other hand, if the tension on the travelling web is insufiicient the material will be fed loosely into the tracking rolls, thus causing a bad tracking condition or side movement.

In most roll fed machines the operator must be continually on the alert to watch for changes in tension as the supply roll reduces in diameter. A full size diameter supply roll requires the maximum :brake applied to it because the peripheral force of the rotating supply roll will tend to over-ride the material causing more material than is required to be delivered to the measuring rolls. As the supply roll grows smaller a gradual decrease in braking action is required due to the natural elimination of the peripheral force caused by the smaller diameter of the supply roll.

This invention has for its salient object to provide a drive control for a supply roll so constructed and arranged as to automatically maintain an even tension on the Web as the diameter on the supply roll varies and as the web is withdrawn from the supply rolls.

Another object of the invention is to provide a supply roll drive so constructed and arranged as toprovide means to quickly bring a supply roll up to full speed from a standstill position.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation of the machine taken substantially on line 22 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale taken substantially on line 33 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings there is shown a machine comprising frame members and 11 having a shaft 12 mounted thereon and driven from the master machine to which the web is fed, such as a wrapping machine. The shaft 12 is operatively connected to a shaft 13 by a variable pitch pulley connection comprising a pulley 3,348,787 Patented Oct. 24, 1967 14 having a pair of conical discs 15 and 16 which are manually adjusted by a screw toward and away from each other to drive a belt 17 which in turn drives a pulley 18 on the shaft 13, the speed of the shaft 13 being less than the speed of the shaft 12.

The shaft 13 has connected thereto spur gears 20 and 21 equal in size and in a one-to-one ratio. The gear 21 is loosely mounted on shaft 22 and is connected to a clutch plate 23 of an electrical clutch or magnetic clutch, the other half of the clutch being shown at 24. Clutch 24 is fixedly mounted on a shaft 22 having also mounted thereon a sprocket wheel 26 which is connected by chain 27 to drive a sprocket 28 on shaft 29. This shaft has mounted thereon rollers 30 which are disposed in frictional engagement with the periphery of the supply roll S. The shafts 22 and 29 are connected by an arm 32 on which the sprocket wheels are mounted and this arm has connected thereto at 33 a cable 34 which extends around an idler 35 mounted on the end thereof a weight 36 which swings the arm 32 in a direction to cause the roller 30 to engage the periphery of the supply roll S.

The shaft 13 has also mounted thereon a spur gear 40 which drives a gear 41 loosely mounted on the shaft 22. The gear 41 is connected to a clutch plate 42 which forms one-half of a magnetic clutch, the other half being shown at 43. The plate 43 is connected to drive the shaft 22 and through this shaft the rolls which peripherally engage the supply roll S.

It will be noted that the gears 40 and 41 provide for driving the supply roll at a faster speed than the gears 20 and 21 and as a matter of fact, drive the supply roll at such a rate as to feed approximately ten feet per minute more by the over-drive than the speed at which the roll is fed by the underdrive through the gears 20 and 21.

The magnetic clutches are controlled by a dancer roll 50 which is mounted on an arm 51 pivoted at 52. The arm has secured thereto a projecting stud 53 which engages a microswitch M. The dancer roll 50 engages the web W which is withdrawn from the supply roll S by means of a pair of feed rolls 55 and 56. The roll 56 is mounted on shaft 57 which in turn is driven by a sprocket and chain connection 58 and 59 from a sprocket 61 mounted on the shaft 22. The arm 51 is urged in a clockwise direction :by a spring 62 which engages the stud 53 and the arm 51 is limited in its movement in this direc tion by a stop 63.

When the switch-blade of the switch M is open as shown in FIG. 1 the circuit through the electric clutch members 23, 24 is closed and these clutch members transmit the drive through the gears 20 and 21, i.e., the underdrive.

However, when the tension on the Web W becomes too great the dancer roll 50 is raised or moved in a counter-clockwise direction and the switch M is closed, thus causing the overdrive to operate through the magnetic clutch comprising members 42 and 43 and increasing drive for the rollers 30 which drive the supply roll.

If there is too much slack in the web, due to the overdrive, the dancer roll will move in a clockwise direction to the position shown in the drawings and the drive will shift to the transmission through the clutch members 23 and 24.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the structure and arrangement of the various parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A drive for controlling the speed of rotation of a supply roll comprising a drive shaft connected to a master machine, a pair of shafts operatively connected to said drive shaft, one of said last named shafts being driven at a speed greater than the drive shaft, and the other of said last named shafts vbeing driven at a speed under the speed of the driven shaft, an arm pivotally connected at one end to one shaft of said pair of shafts, another shaft journaled on the free end of said arm and having driving connections with the shaft to which the arm is pivoted, rollers journaled on the other end of said arm and in driving contact with said supply roll and selective driving connections between said pair of shafts and said drive shaft for driving the supply roll.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 in which the 3. The invention set forth in claim 1 in which the selective driving connections are controlled by the tension on the web withdrawn from the supply roll and a dancer roll engaging the web.

References Cited FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

selective driving connections are controlled by the ten- 15 N. L. MINTZ, Assistant Examinersion on the web withdrawn from the supply roll. 

1. A DRIVE FOR CONTROLLING THE SPEED OF ROTATION OF A SUPPLY ROLL COMPRISING A DRIVE SHAFT CONNECTED TO A MASTER MACHINE, A PAIR OF SHAFTS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT, ONE OF SAID LAST NAMED SHAFTS BEING DRIVEN AT A SPEED GREATER THAN THE DRIVE SHAFT, AND THE DRIVEN AT A SPEED GREATER THAN THE DRIVE SHAFT, AND THE OTHER OF SAID LAST NAMED SHAFTS BEING DRIVEN AT A SPEED UNDER THE SPEED OF THE DRIVEN SHAFT, AN ARM PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END OF ONE SHAFT OF SAID PAIR OF SHAFTS, ANOTHER SHAFT JOURNALLED ON THE FREE END OF SAID ARM AND HAVING DRIVING CONNECTIONS WITH THE SHAFT TO WHICH THE ARM IS PIVOTED, ROLLERS JOURNALED ON THE OTHER END OF SAID ARM AND IN DRIVING CONTACT WITH SAID SUPPLY ROLL AND SELECTIVE DRIVING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF SHAFTS AND SAID DRIVE SHAFT FOR DRIVING THE SUPPLY ROLL. 